


Kisses and Cover Stories.

by PastelWitchStoryTime



Series: Chlodine Week 2019 [1]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bar Fight, But shes totally in love, Chlodine - Freeform, Chloe Frazer & Nadine Ross - Freeform, Chloe Frazer/Nadine Ross - Freeform, Chloe hates the L word, Ex Boyfriend, F/F, Nadine Ross is a lesbian, chlodine angst, fucking fight me bitch, recognizing when you have growing to do, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-07-31 14:29:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20116612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelWitchStoryTime/pseuds/PastelWitchStoryTime
Summary: Chloe is relaxing after a job with her team, Sam Drake and Nadine Ross, when a familiar face catches her eye. Her abusive ex boyfriend. To detour him from trying to rekindle what was once between them she does the only reasonable thing one is to do in this situation. Kiss Nadine and act as though she's not available. That is totally reasonable... Right?**Don't worry I don't talk about how he hurt her at all(whether you take it as physical and/or emotional abuse is up to you, its left open for interpretation so no abuse warnings apply.**





	Kisses and Cover Stories.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first AO3 fic and my first Chlodine work. So... be kind to me. Please. This is for Day 1 of Chlodine Week, prompt word "Misunderstanding." (Critique still welcome though, of course.)

Chloe threw her head back in hearty laughter. As hysterical as she was, she could barely even hear herself over the sound of loud trap music. Playfully, she smacked Nadine, who was also laughing, on her bicep. She sat at a booth in the back of a lounge with her regular partner and Sam, grinning at his own wise-crack, who had just finished helping them with a job.

After only a year of working with Ms. Ross, they had believed they tracked down the crown jewels of Ireland. It took them roughly three months, a blown up truck, a couple hundred rounds of ammunition and quite a few scratches, cuts, scars and wounds to finally snag the little stinkers though, but they did it. She had also almost done the right thing by returning it to the Irish government. Almost.

About two weeks into putting the listing up for grabs on the black market, with the starting price of $20 million, based on the actual worth of the pieces, they had finally agreed to sell it to the billion dollar idiot with the highest bid. Their buyer wanted to meet near the British Museum, about a half an hour drive from Nadine’s apartment in Vauxhall so Sam decided to get a hotel room, while Chloe crashed with the other woman.

They got down there, greeted the client and parted with their find in exchange for $33 million US dollars in cash. The buyer confirmed their purchase and the treasure hunters counted the bills before splitting it three ways at Nadine’s. Some time had gone since then; they were still living off the high of their adventure and unwinding with their new paychecks, having all been set for the rest of the year and then some.

Sam breathed out a cloud of smoke and stood up, asking his colleagues if they’d like anything else from the bar. He took the order of a Godfather for Nadine, earning a gag from the other woman who hated Scotch, and a strawberry margarita for Chloe. Figures, her drink would be red. Sam expressed that he’d be right back and the ladies carried on their conversations.

Chloe had come to find that Nadine did indeed have a wild side, well, at least it was the wildest she could get out of her. It usually took a few drinks and at least two hours in a room of half drunk people with loud music to bring it out of her, though. She could also be quite the seductress, although she wasn’t as much of a player as her loquacious counter part, she was definitely skilled at getting whichever woman she had set her sights on that night to come home with her. She prodded her cheek with her tongue in memory of the last girl Nadine had started a fling with.

She was not much older than Chloe, and that one had actually lasted about a month of being friends-with-benefits apposed to the dark skinned dame’s usual one-night-stands. Miranda she believed was her name. She wasn’t quite fond of Miranda; but don’t ask her why, she’d just tilt her head up in a snooty fashion and say “I just don’t like her.” Somehow Nadine had divulged what she thought of the whole situation: that it was utterly hilarious and for the life of her Chloe could not figure out why. It didn’t matter now. That was behind them. __Good riddance, Miranda.__

Their friend had been taking quite a while in returning with their drinks so the girls had just started talking about how he had probably stumbled across some poor unsuspecting young woman and was trying to rope her in. Nadine was just recounting the time Sam had randomly stopped responding after they gave him research to do because he had somehow managed to get the librarian in his bed, when something, or rather, someone had caught Chloe’s eye.

A tall man, in his early to mid forties, who she could have sworn she had seen somewhere before. He was leaning against the back of a booth, sipping from a stout glass, looking right at her. It was clear he had not seemed to realise, or just didn’t care, that she could see him being a quite unsubtle creep, so she decided to allow it to remain that way. She sparingly would take glances at him from the corner of her eyes while still holding conversation with Nadine, who at this point most likely noticed Chloe was staring at someone but chose to ignore it.

It took quite a while but she had figured out where she knew him from. Chloe had lived in England temporarily within the last six years, however she had stayed in Hampstead, which was a hop skip and a jump from this part of London. She had known him then. She had fucked him then. They had something, that was fun while it lasted, until he started getting weird and possessive so Chloe bit the bullet and told him to “get yourself and your shit out of my goddamn home” and that was the last she had seen of him. That is, until this very moment.

He looked to his right, as if checking if anyone was keeping tabs on him, and stood straight; he was coming over, right to her. She seriously did not want him trying to get back into her life. A barrier. Barriers are good. She decided to do the first thing that came to her mind, something that had come to her mind pretty often within the past months, and acted. The stalker ex boyfriend approaching her during a night on the town was the perfect excuse. That was at least what she told herself anyone.

Unprompted she asked Nadine, cutting her off mid-sentence, if she was having fun, making sure to call her “babe” as she did. The other woman was confused but uttered a reply. Her only warning was saying, “Great,” before gripping Nadine’s face with one hand and bringing the other woman’s lips up to meet hers.

Nadine let out muffled, muddled chirp and sat almost rigid in the taller female’s grasp for what was most likely three seconds. The fact that her work partner was now kissing her had finally registered in her mind, and she did the only appropriate thing to do when you’re being snogged by Chloe Frazer: kissed her back. As soon as she melted into her, she kissed harder.

“What’s this?” Nadine inquired against Chloe’s lips, barely perceptible and mixed with pleasured hums.

A blissful purr was emitted from her and she replied plainly, without parting for a moment, “Shut up.”

And shut up was exactly what she did. She allowed her left arm to snake around Chloe’s waist and pulled her in with one solid motion. Chloe imparted a shocked but excited squeak and held Nadine with both hands, guiding her head to tilt an angle, allowing her the access she desired. Her tongue requested entry and Nadine so pliantly gave it up. They both fought for control and before either could be claimed the victor they were forced apart by the bodily need for oxygen. Sucking on air, they pulled away from one another with an audible __‘smack’ __and locked eyes.

Amber boring into grey and vice versa, in their own world completely until a raspy voice dragged them from it. “Well I’ll be damned,” it had said. __Well then be damned to hell and fuck off,__ Chloe had thought. But she had not allowed that perception to evolve into anything more than that, and kept it in her head where it belonged.

Sam returned to his seat and Chloe’s eyes flickered to the spot behind Nadine she was so obsessed with a moment ago. He was gone. She turned to face forward, to the male of the group and took her displayed her gratitude for her drink, downing it in one go. Nadine, still kissed dumbfounded still faced Chloe until slowly mirroring her motions and smacking her empty glass against the table.

Sam had proceeded to make remarks about “knowing it all along” and “seeing it coming” that neither of the lovebirds encouraged. Nadine stayed warm faced looking down at the table and only averted her eyes when looking at Chloe for a few seconds at a time, then continuing to stare at the probably fake wooden surface. Chloe had just looked at the third treasure hunter as he spoke, adding comments of course, but nothing with her usual quips. Her expression had been unreadable the whole time and she seemed out of it. She was only half listening, she was far too pensive to pay full attention to the older man’s ramblings. Something was different now.

Nadine had decided she wanted to go home relatively soon after canoodling her partner in a crowded club and the partner in particular had decided to join her while Sam stayed behind to get more drunk. The girls had been walking home, it was a lively city and they were fully capable, they’d be fine.

Chloe was still thinking about the fact that she had kissed Nadine and the fact that the other woman hadn’t said a word to her since they had put distance between themselves. She was getting tired of blinking in the twilight and looked down at her feet. Shadows danced along the sidewalk and her boot made a soft click with every step. Her bottom lip found its way between her teeth and she attempted to distract herself from the churning in her gut by playing a game she always did as a kid: avoiding the cracks in the pavement. Masonry probably wasn’t the most suitable texture to play this on though.

She hoped and skipped around, taking some long strides and some short, quick steps. Nadine and the sparse passer-by would occasionally raise their eyebrows at her antics but didn’t fret over it. Hop, hop, hop, stretch, side step, skip over that piece of gum, stretch stretch, hop, thud.

She almost keeled right over but stopped herself, breaking her streak for the past two blocks and cursed under her breath. She looked up to give an apology to the person she had bumped into but she had momentarily lost her voice.

“Chloe! Lovely to see you again!”

“David…” Chloe instinctively grabbed the hand of the woman who had just stepped beside her, “Wish I could say the same…”

“I get it, you’re still mad.”

She smiled, making a cynical drone of confirmation.

“I was actually in the club over there and I saw ya. Trust you to take someone home with you after a few hours.”

“Actually we uh…” she looked at Nadine who’s expression was unclear. She was still holding her hand and just blinked at her rather than spoke, “we’ve been together for quite a while. About a year.”

“Oh…” David looked at Nadine with nothing but passive disgust and lied right through his teeth. “How great. I’m happy for you.” To be fair, she had lied to him too.

“Thanks…” A thick silence only occupied by city sounds: music, vehicles, chatter. “Well um, we should be on our way, you know, its late and all.”

“Right...” He hadn’t taken his eyes off Nadine who had begun to glare back by now.

“Well, good ni-”

“Chloe?”

She cringed. “That’s my name… you’re saying it… again…”

“When I saw you I got to thinking,” his gaze had softened when it fell onto the woman who’s eyes were just about an inch below the level that his were, “that possibly, we could-”

“No-”

“I didn’t even finish-”

“I’m pretty sure you weren’t going to ‘never see each other again’ so what ever it is, no.”

He stood there, his head stooped but his eyes still focused on her. It reminded Chloe of a pouty spoiled child trying to intimidate his mother who had denied him a new toy.

She faltered, but as quick as her bravado had left her, she had regained it in a blink. “Good night, David.”

Pulling her ‘girlfriend’ with her she pushed past him, not bothering to continue her game, not bothering to look back, not bothering to loosen her grip and most certainly not bothering to slow the pace of her speed-]walking or her quickening heartbeat.

* * *

** **

She opened her eyes and greeted the dawn with a groan. The window was open and the curtains weren’t drawn, leaving her laying in a patch of sunlight. She had to admit, it felt kind of good to soak in the Vitamin D again, but Chloe Frazer was not a morning person, and it was far too bright. She rolled over in her spot and pulled the sheets to her nose, closing her eyes. After four or so minutes she’d come to the conclusion she wasn’t getting back to sleep and looked out into the room.

The walls were an off-white beige and there were gold accents here and there: on the drapery, lampshades, door handles and on some vases and mason jars containing the most realistic faux foliage she had ever seen. Any wood work in the room such as the bed frame, nightstands and closet were done in deep mahogany.

There was a glass topped computer desk in the corner, flanked by white bookcases on either side, a brown fake leather ergonomic chair tucked underneath it and a grey laptop, asleep, but left open sitting on top of it. The spot on the bed beside her was empty and the tan duvets were all bunched up next to her. __Figures. __

Whenever the women had roomed together they had shared a bed. It would have been unusual for them not to this time round, they were both so used to it. She wasn’t a morning person, and Nadine Ross wasn’t either, but she was certainly much better at pushing past the grogginess one is left with after rest and kicking the day’s ass. She smiled. She had never, once, risen before her partner.

She always woke up before Chloe did, brushed her teeth, went for a run, brushed out her wild curls then took a shower and rinsed her hair before starting breakfast. It was like clockwork. Chloe had even gotten used to being able to roughly tell time based around what Nadine was doing at the moment. Maybe she should try it too. Getting up earlier that is, not the whole morning exercise, having a schedule and actually combing her hair thing. Baby steps.

Her bare feet touched down onto the fluffy rug. She wiggled her toes in the soft material for a bit before standing up and walking through the open door and out of the room. The room on her immediate left after entering the short hallway was her next destination. Upon closing the door she relived herself and got to washing her hands and brushing her teeth at one of the double sinks. She was always curious why Nadine had them, she lived alone. __Maybe she just likes the aesthetic of it.__

After gurgling a cork full of mouth wash she opened the top cabinet and grabbed a de-tangling brush, almost knocking over some barely touched branded cosmetics. Her partner didn’t wear make up unless she was going to a formal event or simply felt like putting more effort into her appearance than usual, but Chloe personally did her eye-liner and sometimes her lips daily. Nadine didn’t mind her using her liner pencils but even if she wanted to, she couldn’t use her lip sticks or gloss and hence why she always brought her own.

She paid attention to the reflection of the room in the wide mirror when pulling her dark tresses into a bun, without the use of a hair tie. A white stand alone tub stood in front of massive one way windows that looked out into the metropolis below, a tall bronze shower, the patterned tiles still glistening water droplets and puddles from use next to it and a stall, holding the actual toiled beside that. Other than the black wicker basket, this space had a similar feel to the bedroom. Having successfully tamed her locks, she then stripped off her (Nadine’s) shirt, peeled her sweatpants from her body and stepped into the shower, letting go of all tiredness, allowing it to wash down the drain.

Chloe stepped into the living room and connected kitchen, a few minutes later, in black leggings and a yellow tank, hair pulled into her usual pony and make up freshly done. Nadine was chopping an array of vegetables and her damp hair was undone, leaving sluices trailing down the sides of her face and neck. She regarded the other woman with, “Morning, Frazer,” and continued to prepare breakfast. Chloe responded and sauntered over to the mass of fluff on the dark couch.

She sat beside it, scooping the furry thing into her arms and snatched the small brush on the accent table. This living hair ball was Nadine’s cat; a lilac Birman called Juniper.

Chloe remembered her first time staying with Nadine and being startled when the creature had rubbed against her feet when she had barely made it through the door. Her owner had said she’d always wanted more animals but was away too long on jobs and so opted for an independent companion such as a cat, and paid her neighbour to pet sit when she would be gone for some time. Her neighbour had two cats of his own so it was a comfort, Nadine had expressed to Chloe, that June wouldn’t be lonely.

She put her hand through the strap and gentle passed it across the feline’s back, who welcomed the sensation by erupting in pleasured vibration. Chloe smiled to herself and scratched the little thing’s nose. By the time Chloe was finished Nadine had set two plates on the small dining table along with a pitcher of iced lemonade and a porcelain dish that caused an intoxicating aroma to waft through the apartment, calling her to breakfast before the woman serving it could.

Nadine had pulled out a chair for the ex-thief, and pushed it in when she sat. This display of formal politeness, which the woman had done before, prompted a crack from Chloe about her being “such a gentlewoman.” She poured herself a drink as the former mercenary took a knife and began to cut into the cheesy surface of the quiche. Chloe was practically drooling.

Although Nadine often prompted for MREs when they were on the go, unlike the other woman she could actually cook a decent (delicious) three course meal. In her thirty-seven years on earth she had not managed to cook anything more gourmet than those prepackaged dishes you buy and stuff in a microwave for six minutes.

Sure, her grandmother on her father’s side had shown her the family recipe for good curry, but that was about it. She could manage some chick peas and some chicken, possibly, but she’d always order the dhal puri from the nearest Delhi place.

Her gratefulness for home cooked food didn’t go unrepresented to her chef, not at any point. Sometimes, most times even, she’d exaggerate that first bite, just to get a reaction out of Nadine; this time was no different. She had practically moaned after clamping her mouth down onto her fork, the woman across from her chuckling at her antics.

“You know, you don’t have to sing my praises three times a day…” she took a bite herself.

Chloe waited until she had swallowed before responding, “I know… I do it because you deserve it, three times a day.”

She scoffed. “Sure…”

“Uh oh…”

“What?”

“Something’s on your mind..”

“What makes you say that?”

“You’re doing the thing. The thing you always do when you’re pondering something. The thing you do when you chew on nothing.”

“I’m eating, Chloe.”

“Yeah but you’re talking. You don’t talk with your mouthful but you’re still chewing.”

Nadine sighed. __Got her.__

“Well. Out with it.”

“That man from last night…” she gazed down at her food, poking at it with her fork a few times, “who was he?”

“No one important.”

“He seemed important,” she reestablished eye contact.

“I promise you,” lies, “he wasn’t. Just someone I knew when I lived in the UK. An ex-partner.”

“Now would that be a business partner, or a romantic partner?”

Chloe froze, gawking at Nadine the same way she had when the woman mentioned her being close to the Drakes back in India. “What’s it to you, might I ask?” she had regained her composure.

She didn’t answer. She just continued her meal in silence. When she was finished she had cleaned up, put away left overs, cradled Juniper and went to her room with the feline. Chloe hadn’t tried to object like this. She most likely knew she was lying, and most likely knew why, but just wanted her honesty. The same way all she wanted was her honesty about going to save Sam instead of the Tusk of Ganesh episode only featuring the two of them.

She was most likely upset.

Nadine Ross usually got inquisitive, then painfully silent when she was upset. She was used to it. Certainly she wasn’t the cause of her strife most times since their partnership began, this was only the second time since then. They got on just fine and didn’t argue much outside of improvised schemes while on the job, the opposite of what she had expected going into this the relationship.

They were both stubborn as bullocks and as bold as black ink. They were similar in that aspect, and vastly different in others, but she had found that their differences only made their lives more interesting, they had even robbed off on each other a small bit. Sometimes she’d be shocked to find the woman singing along to show tunes with her, and she actually had a lovely voice, shame on her for keeping that a secret. The contrast between them hadn’t gotten in the way often, and they were both very hot headed, but horrible at holding grudges.

Maybe they bicker over something petty and are fine after two hours, the only time Nadine could manage to do something that had a semblance of staying mad was if Chloe had done something to deserve it. Things such as lying like the filthy beat out pet piss stained rug she was. It was different though.

Lying usually came as a natural instinct to her, to keep people the hell out of her personal life. She hadn’t had think about it before. That had been before. Now though, she found honesty to be her reflex when when it came to Nadine. She had to think about it then.

She hadn’t the slightest idea why but concocting a cock and bull story to tell to those amber eyes proved to be increasingly difficult. And the same situation always came from these tall tales of hers, and God she was in the dog house now.

* * *

“Alright,” breathed the elder Drake as he stood, “That’s me.”

“It’s been good, mate,” Chloe wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug.

He waited until they had pulled away, arms still around on another to share his queries. “You’re going to Australia soon, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll probably be heading home in a few days. Or until this lovely lady decides to throw me out onto the curb.”

The trio laughed lightly and Sam approached Nadine, not hesitating to share an embrace with her either. “Keep our girl outta trouble, yeah?”

“I always do,” she sighed with her chin resting on his shoulder.

She retreated back into her personal space soon enough though and Sam had picked up his bags and went to his gate. Chloe was proud of how far he and the former mercenary had come in their relationship. From them absolutely despising each other, to bickering like children, to managing to have each other’s backs and now here they were; hugging in public. She never thought she would see the day.

The girls decided to head out to a local bar instead of heading straight home after seeing Sam off. It wasn’t near as decked out as the lounge the celebrated in two nights ago but it was cozy, the beer was good, and you could actually order a bowl of pepper stuffed olives. Just olives. What more could anyone want from life?

It was rustic, with warm lighting, wooden furniture, three pool tables and a wall mounted singing salmon. A white noise echoed around the building, bouncing off the walls. It had been a downpour when they left the airport, but in a London spring, such was expected. At noon the bar clearly wasn’t packed but had a few business men on their lunch break, sight seers and fresh out of high school young adults wandering aimlessly and taking advantage of the fact that they were eighteen and legal on this land.

Nadine hadn’t said much. She wasn’t angry, but wasn’t over their little squabble from the previous day either. The curly maned dame had watched a movie with the woman, laughed along with her, offered her ice cream, buying a tub of Chloe’s favourite flavour even. She didn’t shy away then the leaner of the two had wrapped her arm around her in bed that night, not a rarity of her. She’d greeted her the following morning as she normally would, exchanged casual banter here and there, but she was still more quite than usual.

More quite than the Nadine Ross she had come to know. The Nadine she knew wouldn’t hesitate to tell her a story, or crack a joke based on what was happening around them. Her resting bitch face had also returned, which was also odd. She usually had a soft, barely noticeable smile when she was with her, and more often than that she had this, at least to Chloe, adorable pout that made her almost appear curious, especially when hey were on a job. She wanted that Nadine back.

The woman she had been thinking about so intently sat across from her at their table. She was stirring her drink by repeating a circular motion with her left wrist, occasionally taking a swig. Chloe had been ogling right at her for the past ten minutes and she either had not caught onto that, __i_mpossible_,__ or simply didn’t pay it any mind.

She wasn’t looking at her. Her right arm lay across the back of her chair and she was faced out into the pub, observing the soccer match playing on the wall mounted TV. She pouted. Nadine doesn’t even like soccer. Just as she had decided enough was enough and that she’d be the one to break the ice, the other woman, without turning to face her, had spoken first.

“Your ‘unimportant’ friend’s kind of a creep.”

Chloe was taken aback. “What?”

“Your friend…” she guided her attention to her, placing both elbows on the table and nodding in the direction the exit behind Chloe, “Dave or whatever. He’s a creep.”

Chloe spun in her chair and confirmed. He was indeed a creep. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” He sat at a table, alone, near the exit, staring at her. He looked, putting it nicely, like hell. His hair was a mess, there were dark circles under his eyes and his clothing was disheveled.

They made eye contact and he took this as his que to come over. She immediately stood, setting a twenty pound note for the three beers plus a tip. Frazzled, she turned around right into his grasp.

He smiled at her, “We have to stop meeting like this…”

“Yeah, we should definitely stop meeting, period.”

Chloe jerked her arm out his clutches, hard and looked over her shoulder. Nadine was standing too, her jacket on and expression hardened. If this man wanted to keep his arms he’d keep them off of her. The aggressive nature of her repulsion only caused him to step closer, and in reflex she took a step back, not doing much good as she had just backed up into the table.

Her face was turned away from him, trying to calm down she had closed her eyes and she spoke with authority, “What do you want, David?”

“You know exactly what I want.”

“You lost that right a long time ago and you know that.”

“Oh really, because if I remember everything correctly I should be the one running away from you-”

“I never ran,” she faced him, the tips of their noses an inch apart.

“Well you certainly vanished. You weren’t so hard to find when you wanted me to rock your bed every night.”

“I think you need to take a step back, sir.”

“Maybe I should teach you a lesson-”

“Maybe,” Nadine spoke up, stepping closer to the two, “you should understand when you’re not welcome and leave the lady alone.”

He gave the other woman a once over, and decided to advance on her, “And who’s going to make me?”

“I will. Of course, only if it has to go there.”

David scoffed, “I’m not scared of you.”

Nadine leaned closer and said to him, just above a whisper, “Maybe you should be.”

His face was burning as he lunged at her. In one swift movement she sidestepped and used his momentum to bring his face crashing down into the edge of the table. A roar of pain erupted from him and if patrons weren’t already gawking, they definitely were now. Nadine then coolly strode toward the six foot three man curled up on the floor, clutching at his nose, blood oozing from between his fingers.

She stooped over, putting her hands on her knees, head cocked in his direction and barely breathed, “Get up…”

He looked at her, baffled, “What?”

“Get up…” she repeated with the same eerie serenity.

He continued to stare, dumbfounded and what looked to Chloe, a little afraid.

Suddenly Nadine’s zen had vanished and she repeated her request a third time, screaming at him, “Get up!”

David scrambled to his feet and his ‘attacker’ joined him at his level, at best she could being almost a foot shorter. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to her, whispering a threat into his ear, just loud enough for those who were paying attention, like every single soul in the pub was, to hear.

“Now, I’ll offer you a deal, ja? You’re going to walk out of here with your tail between your legs and live the rest of your life as if she has a restraining order filed against you. And if I hear, and trust me I will know, that you ever came within ten metres of her, whether intentional or not, I will hunt you down and personally remove your left ball sack. I’ll allow you to keep the right, but only as a reminder for if you ever decide to take God out of your thoughts and try your luck again. Do you understand?”

He nodded dumbly.

“Good.” She pushed him away, hard, causing him to stumble. “Now become scarce.”

David still stood there, in complete horror, just staring at her.

“I said get lost!”

At her final request he did as he was told, gripping his broken nose, and dragging his bruised ego and ass right out the door. A janitor stood beside Nadine, glaring at her. She apologetically pulled out ten pounds handed it to him, as compensation for making his job harder having to remove blood from the table and floor, along with cleaning the smashed beer bottles and spilled amber liquid. Nadine tugged on her jacket and then made a move to leave herself but Chloe held her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

“You didn’t have to do that, China.”

“I know,” she wasn’t looking at her, “He was pissing me off.”

“Well, thank you, regardless…”

“Don’t mention it.”

“No, really, love-”

“Yes, really.” Nadine had looked at her now, and held up a hand silencing her, “Don’t mention it.”

Chloe had been confused. Before she could ask what she had done wrong her partner proceeded to the exit that David had vanished from, into the downpour.

* * *

“Okay, what the fuck was that, Nadine?”

Chloe slammed the door behind her, startling Juniper who was asleep on the window sill and causing her to bolt into the bed room.

“What are you talking about, Frazer?” They were both soaking wet and hadn’t even removed their coats yet.

“What am I talking about- That! That in the bar. You kiss me, get quiet, interrogate me, get mad and then quiet again. The next thing I know we’re fine but we’re not, you beat up a man for me and then get angry all over again when I try to thank you.”  
“Woah there-” she spun around, so heated Chloe was shocked the rain water didn’t evaporate from direct contact with her skin, “__You__ kissed __me.__”

“Yeah but you kissed me back, didn’t you?”

“That was before-”

“Before what?”

“Before I knew that it was a game! Before I knew I was just your cover story, your __pretend__ girlfriend who you could rope into your past relationship drama without consulting me first!”

“What? I-”

“I saw him at the lounge Chloe.”

She froze. “You did…?”

“Yes. I did. And I was an idiot, I told myself ‘Don’t worry about it, Nadine. It’s probably nothing. She would never use you.’ Guess I was wrong about that too-”

“I told you, he was nobody-”

“Well he was clearly somebody! Maybe not anymore but he was definitely not nobody.”

“What does my personal past have to do with you? Why the hell do you care?”

“I don’t!”

“Then why are you acting like this-”

“Because you lied to me! Again! And I wanted to believe you but you just lied, like you always do.”

The woman in front of her looked more hurt than angry, and Chloe wasn’t sure if it was the dew but there was definitely excess liquid in both their eyes.

She hadn’t been sure how to respond to that. It was true, she did lie. Nadine noticed her falter and scoffed, attempting to walk off. __It’s not ending like this.__

“Fine…”

“‘Fine’ what?”

“I did lie to you.”

“We’ve established that.”

“But it wasn’t easy-”

“Bullshit-”

“I’m serious,” she stepped closer, “Don’t ask me what it is, or why, because I have no idea but something about you makes me want to be honest, Nandi.”

Again, she scoffed. __Not like this, please God.__

“If you were so mad at me for not being genuine, please, at least let me start now.”

“Then spit it out-”

“I fancy you, Nadine…” she couldn’t hold back the streams running down her cheeks at this point. “I do, and I lied because I didn’t want you to know about my relationship with David but more so the woman I was ten years ago when we were together. I’m not the best person now anyway, but I’m definitely an improvement from then. I wasn’t the best person to have a romantic connection with and I didn’t want you to think I was still that girl because I’m not, I swear to you, I’m not, but I was afraid, Nandi. I was-” she choked.

Chloe brought her hands to her face. God, she was a mess. She closed her eyes and focused all her energy into stopping her chest from convulsing so much, to stop herself from hiccuping; to stop herself from crying. Chloe Frazer did not cry. She also didn’t tell the truth, didn’t stay and most certainly did not fall in love but here we are. _Fuck off, narrator. _(Well, damn.)

She was waiting; waiting to be cussed out, punched, asked to leave, anything. Regardless of whatever Nadine had in store for her, she knew she would have deserved it.

What she wasn’t prepared for was to feel a gentle hand on her shoulder, another cupping her cheek. She allowed the hand to guide her face to Nadine’s. Her gaze was tender, her lips were curved into the slightest of smiles and her eyes had been blood shot too, not as red as Chloe’s but still visible. She wordlessly wiped away her tears and then wrapped her arms around her. Nadine held Chloe for what felt like an eternity to the both of them. She held her, rubbing soothing circles into her back, rocking slightly, until the taller woman’s frame stopped trembling. Until she was finished. Until she was ready.

“Thanks…” Chloe has whispered, her voice somewhat hoarse.

“Mhm.” Silence. “Chloe?”

They pulled away, just far enough to look at each other without having to let go. “Yeah?” she finally asked after a sniffle.

“Its okay, you know… None of us were the same person we were ten years ago. Not Sam, not Nathan, not you, and certainly not me. Trust me, I’m pretty sure I was a worse person than you were.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Is it? I mean I was fresh into Shoreline and I made some questionable leadership choices, associated with some equally as questionable people…”

“I guess that’s true…”

“You guess? Not only that but I was obsessed with money,” she scoffed at the memory, “Ew… I was a piece of work.”

Chloe chuckled and allowed her arms to rest on the shorter woman’s shoulders.

“The point is,” Nadine chuckled as well, “we’re all capable of change. And if you tell me that something you said or did quite literally a decade ago, is not even in the realm of possibilities for you to do now then… You are a filthy liar,” Chloe laughed, “but I’d believe you unless you gave me reason to believe otherwise. At the end of the day you have to be open with me and we can push through whatever comes…” she caressed her cheek, “but promise we’d do it together.”

She smiled. This was exactly why she loved her so much, even though she’d never say that out loud. “I promise, love. I guess in my attempt to prove that I wasn’t toxic anymore… I was a little toxic innit of itselt, huh?”

“A little?”

She laughed, “Okay, a lot! But… I am sorry…”

“You’re a selfish dickhead,” she pulled her closer.

“Yeah… I am…” she leaned a little, then stopped herself. “May I? Kiss you that is. For real this time.”

Nadine smiled at her dotingly, “You may…”

Chloe smiled back and pressed that very smile to Nadine’s and she could feel the woman grinning as well. This endearment wasn’t as lust fueled and hungry as their first, but filled to the brim of emotion and longing. Only after quite a few pecks on the lips, the chocolate skinned treasure hunter, who tasted just as sweet, opened her mouth slightly, allowing her partner access. Still slow and warm, Nadine wrapped her arms around her lover’s waist firmly before pulling back, earning a whimper from the woman.

“We should probably change… We’ll catch cold if we stay here in these wet clothes.”

“Nadine Ross,” Chloe brought a hand to her chest in feigned shock, “Are you trying to get me naked?”

Nadine laughed and pulled the taller half-Indian in again, this time allowing her to wrap her legs around her waist. Thankful for her strength, the former mercenary carried her with ease.

“Maybe...”

* * *

** _ ** ** _ **

She opened her eyes and greeted the dawn with a groan. The window was closed and the curtains were drawn leaving her blinking in the dim light. She had to admit, it felt good being able to slowly rise and not be awoken by Helios himself again because Chloe Frazer was not a morning person. She rolled over in her spot and allowed the sheets to fall from her face, closing her eyes. After four or so minutes she’d come to the conclusion she wasn’t getting back to sleep and looked out into the room.

The walls were still an off-white beige and there were articles of clothing spread out here and there: on the ottoman, lampshades, door handles and on some vases and mason jars containing the most realistic faux foliage she had ever seen. Most wood work in the room such as the bed frame, nightstands and closet were done in deep mahogany and tagged with blank ink or scratched in with a blade.

There was a glass topped computer desk in the corner, flanked by white bookcases on either side, a brown fake leather ergonomic chair tucked underneath it and a grey laptop set next to a DSLR camera, both switched off, sitting on top of it. The spot on the bed next to her was occupied a figure hidden under the bunched tan duvet. __Figures. __The woman facing away from her had a schedule that she was now breaking.

She usually woke up before Chloe did, brushed her teeth, went for a run, brushed out her wild curls then took a shower and rinsed her hair before starting breakfast. It was like clockwork. Chloe had even gotten used to being able to roughly tell time based around what her lover was doing at the moment.

She couldn’t depend on it anymore though, because ever so often Chloe would bollix it all up. She had actually gotten around to trying her partner’s routine and the other woman had also tried hers. Sleeping in, and catching up on her system later that is, not the full go with the flow attitude. Baby steps.

Chloe smiled and wrapped her arms around the inexperienced treasure hunter who hummed at the touch. Nadine was a light sleeper, she most likely woke when she had shifted. Nadine was also a little spoon, even though she’d quicker shoot a monkey than admit that.

She rotated in her arms and was now nose to nose with the olive skinned beauty, stunning even in her freshly roused state. They were both completely bare aside for the covers after the events of the previous night and still a little excited by it too. Chloe pecked her on the cheek and caressed her curls, admiring what was now hers. She was already used to waking up next to her, but being able to hold her in her arms, after some of the admittedly, best sex she’d had in quite a while, was different. It was exhilarating.

It wasn’t even about the fact that she now had access to the woman’s body, but that she’d unlocked a new area of their relationship and of her love she’d been dying to explore. So far she hadn’t been disappointed in what she’d discovered and didn’t think she’d ever be. Nadine was shockingly affectionate, albeit not in public too often, but that didn’t matter to Chloe. She was just happy to have her, and she’d told her that every day since they’d made themselves official two months ago. She was sure the annoyance her girlfriend displayed at these comments had slowly become more genuine by now, not like that could stop her from saying it.

After some time of just being in each other’s arms Chloe tossed the sheets aside, got up and put on sweatpants and a plain, solid colour top. Deeming herself appropriately dressed to take on the day, she kissed Nadine’s forehead and made for the door, calling out behind her as she went, “I’ll start breakfast.”

“Oh God, no-”

“What?”

Nadine had sprung out of bed and was throwing on one of Chloe’s oversized shirts by the time she looked over her shoulder. “You’d burn down my kitchen.”

"It would be fun though. What's the harm in a little arson every once in a while?"

The shorter woman grinned cheekily before grabbing her from behind and spinning around, making them both erupt into giddy laughter. She understood now, why leaving Nate in Tibet had been the right choice all along. She would have been a roadblock in something like this, left them both missing out on this.

It felt right. All of it. And she wouldn’t change it for the world. She had also been quite frightened of the L word, she acted as though saying it aloud would summon a demon of some kind that would rip everything away from her; everything she’d ever think to describe with the very word. She never once had to say it, she knew she felt it for the woman holding her, and so did she.

Chloe turned in Nadine's arms and caressed her face. She planted a kiss on her, gently, then pulled away, her trademark smirk illuminating her face. To think the push she needed to figure all of this out was one huge misunderstanding.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed it. Leave a comment or a kudos to let me know what you think. Reminder I'm doing the full week and I'm also an artist so I'll let you know which pieces I do art for. Be sure to look out for that. Thanks again guys.


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